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Oregon Man Killed In Colorado On Nationwide Walk

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KIT CARSON, Colo. (AP) — An Oregon man who lost his gay son to suicide and was walking across the country to raise awareness about bullying is dead after being hit by a truck in Colorado.

The Colorado State Patrol says 48-year-old Joseph Bell of La Grande, Ore. died Wednesday after being struck along a two-lane highway in a rural area 20 miles northwest of Kit Carson. Investigators believe the driver fell asleep.

Bell’s 15-year-old son, Jadin, died in February after hanging himself in a schoolyard. He had reported being bullied but he didn’t leave a suicide note.

Bell began his walk in April and planned to finish on the Delaware coast.

The truck driver, 49-year-old Kenneth Raven, of Bryan, Texas, has been charged with careless driving resulting in death, a misdemeanor.